Worst review I have seen in a long time (borderlands 2)

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Because he typed the words 'Call of Duty'? Is that why it's a horrible review?

It's because he compared it to Call of Duty, it's nothing like COD. It's more like Diablo or Torchlight with guns.

To be fair of course you can compare it to CoD, there's nothing inherently wrong or incorrect about that. They are both in the same genre and share similar mechanics, of course there are other big differences too which should be commented upon.

It's the style and fuzzy-logic of this particular WSJ review which makes it so poor.

Sorry but I disagree COD is a pure military first person shooter. Just because Borderlands has guns and a first person perspective doesn't mean that it invites comparison. The intrinsic gameplay (Heavily loot based, open world, co op multiplayer,) and role playing elements of BL2 make it a completely different type of game.

The rest of the article also sucks but I was trying to explain to the person who I quoted why mentioning COD was ridiculous.

 

[GoaThief]

Sorry but I disagree COD is a pure military first person shooter. Just because Borderlands has guns and a first person perspective doesn't mean that it invites comparison. The intrinsic gameplay (Heavily loot based, open world, co op multiplayer,) and role playing elements of BL2 make it a completely different type of game.

You shoot mostly hitscan weapons from a first-person perspective using very similar controls (regardless of platform). One "feels" a lot better in this respect due to more fluid player movement, weapon and target response and sadly it's not the one with the much longer single-player campaign.

See, I made a completely valid comparison there.

 

[scw55]

Perhaps instead of sharing the awful review where people will give it attention and the man publicity, you ought to have left it undisturbed.

You'll just have the Rebecca Black (poor girl) and Troupes verses Soupes effect.

I didn't know people regarded Borderlands 2 as a gritty FPS. Surely the graphic aesthetics means that it's more than a 'fps'. So why are they being compared for criticism sake? You can compare anything for research, but never for review as they're two different things.
It's like comparing a wolf and a dog for a candidate for being a pet. They're too similar looking animals but one is a wild animal and isn't domesticated. The other is.

It's like saying using Magic or Bows in any TES games makes them a first person shooter.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Sorry but I disagree COD is a pure military first person shooter. Just because Borderlands has guns and a first person perspective doesn't mean that it invites comparison. The intrinsic gameplay (Heavily loot based, open world, co op multiplayer,) and role playing elements of BL2 make it a completely different type of game.

You shoot mostly hitscan weapons from a first-person perspective using very similar controls (regardless of platform). One "feels" a lot better in this respect due to more fluid player movement, weapon and target response and sadly it's not the one with the much longer single-player campaign.

See, I made a completely valid comparison there.

Not really COD is made to be a realistic modern military shooter, Borderlands has rpg elements and uses skill points so your initial experience of the game isn't that character at it's peak with the best guns. The only way you could safely compare it is with a maxed out character.

It's not a fair comparison.

 

[Fasckira]

I would point out that while the review is shockingly lol-filled to us, surely its actually quite a decent review to those who typically read the Wall Street Journal? Or has the demographic for that changed recently?

 

[GoaThief]

Not really COD is made to be a realistic modern military shooter

It's not, COD is an arcade military-themed shooter. A realistic military shooter would be ArmA or similar.

Borderlands has rpg elements and uses skill points so your initial experience of the game isn't that character at it's peak with the best guns. The only way you could safely compare it is with a maxed out character.

Who said it wasn't a high-level character? Sorry but it's a perfectly fine comparison, you may not like Borderlands being compared in any way, shape or form with CoD but you can as long as it's done fairly and with reason unlike the article in question.

Even saying that they are different in certain respects is a comparison, you realise? Every time you say "Borderlands has X, and COD has Y" you're still making a comparison. I don't see how you can honestly say that the two are absolutely, in no way at all, comparable.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

Not really COD is made to be a realistic modern military shooter

It's not, COD is an arcade military-themed shooter. A realistic military shooter would be ArmA or similar.

Borderlands has rpg elements and uses skill points so your initial experience of the game isn't that character at it's peak with the best guns. The only way you could safely compare it is with a maxed out character.

Who said it wasn't a high-level character? Sorry but it's a perfectly fine comparison, you may not like Borderlands being compared in any way, shape or form with CoD but you can as long as it's done fairly and with reason unlike the article in question.

Even saying that they are different in certain respects is a comparison, you realise? Every time you say "Borderlands has X, and COD has Y" you're still making a comparison. I don't see how you can honestly say that the two are absolutely, in no way at all, comparable.

They aren't they are a completely different genre of game.

If I was doing a review I wouldn't even mention COD because it has nothing to do with Borderlands. To do so would be confusing and misleading to the consumer. :/ It sounds like you are just trying to be pedantic now.

 

[GoaThief]

They aren't they are a completely different genre of game

They aren't completely different genres of game!

One has RPG elements and quests, yes. The other is more linear, has big set-pieces and pacing. Both are still first person shooters, the core element of both; shooting enemies from a first person perspective mostly using hitscan weaponry. They are different flavours of first person shooter, we could pigeonhole them into subgenres if we wanted to be pedantic, but they are definitely first person shooters.

If you wanted to argue Mirror's Edge wasn't a First Person Shooter you might have a case, but Borderlands? No. It's a FPS through-and-through. You were the person who said we cannot compare the two, remember. Of course we can, if done correctly unlike the review.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

They aren't they are a completely different genre of game

They aren't completely different genres of game!

One has RPG elements and quests, yes. The other is more linear, has big set-pieces and pacing. Both are still first person shooters, the core element of both; shooting enemies from a first person perspective mostly using hitscan weaponry. They are different flavours of first person shooter, we could pigeonhole them into subgenres if we wanted to be pedantic, but they are definitely first person shooters.

If you wanted to argue Mirror's Edge wasn't a First Person Shooter you might have a case, but Borderlands? No. It's a FPS through-and-through. You were the person who said we cannot compare the two, remember. Of course we can, if done correctly unlike the review.

Thta's kind of what I meant, Saying someone shouldn't buy Borderlands 2 'because COD' is just meaningless, the two games are nothing alike except for the fps factor. I certainly wouldn't use COD as my go to comparison in a review like this guys has done.

 

[sapphireofthesea]

As a review it is very detailed and what I expect in a review. However, t is painfully obvious that this is a topic for which he has too little experience to do justice reviewing. That is not a snobby statement, it just appears he has stepped into video gaming in the present generation and as a result is comparing it to (and reviewing it for) the most recent generation.
For those of a similar mindset to him it is probably an accurate description, but for more veteran individuals or those with tastes beyond this generation it is woefully lacking.

 

[Dandark]

I was laughing but then my brain started hurting.
Im sorry but that was just so much dumb, this is the kinda thing we need to get used to now though with people who have only played games like CoD.

 

[reithena]

I went and I replied to his review...to prove that those of us with estrogen find the game incredibly fun. And to tell him that while he can not like the game, he also apparently straight up played it like an FPS which was the wrong thing man...I just wanted to cry...

It is okay I guess..he can go be teabagged in Halo by 13 year olds when it comes out. I won't stop him.

 

[WoW Killer]

You shoot mostly hitscan weapons from a first-person perspective using very similar controls (regardless of platform). One "feels" a lot better in this respect due to more fluid player movement, weapon and target response and sadly it's not the one with the much longer single-player campaign.

See, I made a completely valid comparison there.

The weapons aren't hitscan in Borderlands btw.

Sure you can make a valid comparison to CoD, but you shouldn't be basing your entire review around it. What this review says can be summed up in a single sentence: "Borderlands 2 is unlikely to appeal to the fans of CoD or Halo, since it lacks a large-scale multiplayer mode.". That right there would be a perfectly fine and informative statement to include in any review. You've got to then expand on that and try to suggest what sort of players it would appeal to. These players obviously exist, because the original Borderlands was hugely successful despite having itself competed with its own generation of CoDs and Halos. The reviewer seems to pass over this as a historical curiosity.

Most obviously lacking is the simple question: would this appeal to fans of the original Borderlands? You can't be taken seriously as a professional reviewer without addressing a basic question like that in some form or another.

 

[reithena]

I went and I replied to his review...to prove that those of us with estrogen find the game incredibly fun. And to tell him that while he can not like the game, he also apparently straight up played it like an FPS which was the wrong thing man...I just wanted to cry...

It is okay I guess..he can go be teabagged in Halo by 13 year olds when it comes out. I won't stop him.

Actually, all humans have estrogen (and testosterone). Men and women just have different levels of them and, in fact, lacking either one entirely will either cripple you in some very serious ways or kill you.

Just putting that out there, because a number of people don't know it. Spreading the knowledge!

Yes, I knew that, but thanks for the correction anyway!

Either way, us with more estrogen still like intense fast paced games, just as the ones with more testosterone.

 

[reithena]

I went and I replied to his review...to prove that those of us with estrogen find the game incredibly fun. And to tell him that while he can not like the game, he also apparently straight up played it like an FPS which was the wrong thing man...I just wanted to cry...

It is okay I guess..he can go be teabagged in Halo by 13 year olds when it comes out. I won't stop him.

Actually, all humans have estrogen (and testosterone). Men and women just have different levels of them and, in fact, lacking either one entirely will either cripple you in some very serious ways or kill you.

Just putting that out there, because a number of people don't know it. Spreading the knowledge!

Yes, I knew that, but thanks for the correction anyway!

Either way, us with more estrogen still like intense fast paced games, just as the ones with more testosterone.

Yup, yup! My boyfriend bought be Borderlands 2 and I've been playing the hell out of it. Loved the first one and love this one (so far). I am, sadly, one of those affected by the strange frame rate issues. My rig is an absolute beast and should be able to handle Borderlands 2 with miles to spare, but for whatever reason, some of us get quite poor FPS. It also doesn't matter what settings we use or what modifications we do to the .ini; the lowest possible settings yield an identical frame rate to the highest possible settings.

Interestingly, running Fraps and recording while playing increases our frame rates, often by double. The issue seems to be the game only using about half the available GPU and CPU. It's unplayable for some, but it's fine for me. My FPS with Fraps running hovers around 60, dropping to 40 or so here and there. It makes for a somewhat choppy experience, but it's far from unplayable.

Will no doubt be fixed soon and I can continue enjoying the awesome game ^^

I bought it on PS3 first(I normally wait a little while for them to fix the bug in PC) but even there I'm having issues, so don't worry your not alone. If my husband opens up a menu screen or a shop the game will just lag and I will die. Or if we get to far from one another the quality will go way down.

However, I am loving it anyway! And we are adapting to play around these little issues.